Oakland ER Offers ‘On Demand’ Addiction Treatment As Health Systems Try New Responses To Drug Epidemic
Highland Hospital's emergency department is one of a few across the nation that provides patients with withdrawal medication. Also in news on the opioid crisis: synthetic pot is emerging as a public health risk; chronic pain patients say their need for painkillers often leaves them feeling like criminals; treating babies born dependent on drugs; and home pot delivery.
The New York Times:
This E.R. Treats Opioid Addiction On Demand. That’s Very Rare.
Every year, thousands of people addicted to opioids show up at hospital emergency rooms in withdrawal so agonizing it leaves them moaning and writhing on the floor. Usually, they’re given medicines that help with vomiting or diarrhea and sent on their way, maybe with a few numbers to call about treatment. ... Highland [Hospital E.R. in Oakland], a clattering big-city hospital where security wands constantly beep as new patients get scanned for weapons, is among a small group of institutions that have started initiating opioid addiction treatment in the E.R. (Goodnough, 8/18)
The New York Times:
In San Francisco, Opioid Addiction Treatment Offered On The Streets
The addiction treatment program at Highland Hospital’s emergency room is only one way that cities and health care providers are connecting with people in unusual settings. Another is in San Francisco, where city health workers are taking to the streets to find homeless people with opioid use disorder and offering them buprenorphine prescriptions on the spot. (Goodnough, 8/18)
The Associated Press:
Synthetic Pot Seen As A Public Health Danger
A decade after first appearing in the United States, synthetic marijuana is seen as a growing health danger. Some marijuana smokers turned to it because it is relatively cheap and not detected in routine drug testing. Dozens of people in New Haven, Connecticut, went to the hospital this week after overdosing on a batch of synthetic pot. (Stobbe, 8/17)
The Associated Press:
Chronic Pain Patients Says They're 'Treated Like Criminals'
Doctors are looking at opioid prescriptions through a microscopic lens because since 2013, more people in Virginia have died from drug overdoses than vehicle accidents or guns, according to the Virginia Department of Health. ... As a result, the health care industry has reduced the number of opioid prescriptions, hoping to curtail “drug seekers” who may start with pain pills, which become a gateway drug to more illicit substances. But the cutback also is affecting those with legitimate pain problems. (Dyson, 8/19)
California Healthline:
Babies Dependent On Opioids Need Touch, Not Tech
It’s estimated that around 2 percent of infants are now born drug-dependent. In areas gripped by the opioid crisis, the rate is even higher. The low-tech, high-touch treatment approach that Lili received in the first weeks of her life is one that health experts encourage hospitals everywhere to adopt as they grapple with increasing numbers of infants born with drug dependencies. (Smith, 8/20)
KPCC:
Knock, Knock: Pot Delivery. Should Cannabis Be Deliverable In Cities That Have Banned It?
We get into the weeds with cannabis delivery in cities where storefront sales are banned in California. We also discuss the CA bail reform bill; examine the SEC's consideration to end quarterly reports; and more. (Mantle, 8/17)